Argument: Kosovo is too underdeveloped for independence

Support

Charles Kupchan. “Independence for Kosovo”. Foreign Affairs. November/December 2005 – “By any measure, the political conditions in Kosovo fall well short of the standards that the international community has set as preconditions for moving to final-status negotiations. Serbs do not enjoy freedom of movement, one of the main reasons that only a handful of those who fled since 1999 have returned. The process of decentralization meant to empower local communities has proved stillborn. Political and legal institutions have yet to mature, stymied by infighting among political parties, crime and corruption, and patronage systems deeply embedded in the clannish structure of Albanian society. Poverty is pervasive, with unemployment topping 50 percent even among ethnic Albanians. An inadequate power supply makes for daily blackouts, and Kosovo’s uncertain political status leaves it unable to attract the foreign capital it needs to invest in basic infrastructure.”